Fire doors play an important role in a building’s fire protection system, protecting the building’s occupants from smoke and toxic gases while also allowing them to escape safely. This means that every aspect of a fire door from self-closing mechanisms to correct signage must be in place to keep people safe and secure.
What is the gap between the fire door frame and the wall?
The gap size between the Fire Doors Kent and the wall is crucial for preventing the spread of smoke and fire. It is also important for the ability of the door to meet NFPA 80 test standards.
NFPA80 requires a minimum of 3/8-inch clearance dimension around the perimeter of a door in the closed position to prevent the passage of fire and smoke. Frequently, however, gaps are larger than this, making it difficult for fire and smoke to pass through.
A recent study published by the American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE) and the Fire Protection Research Foundation, sought to investigate how clearance gap sizes affect fire and smoke development. The study used literature reviews, computer modeling, and experimental testing to evaluate the influence of gap sizes on fire door performance.
Gap Between Fire Door Frame and Wall
The results of the study showed that a number of existing swinging fire door assemblies have clearance gaps that exceed the maximum allowed gap dimensions in NFPA 80. As a result, the study recommended that full scale fire tests be conducted to determine if clearance gaps may negatively impact the performance of fire door assemblies and whether gaps should be increased or reduced in some cases.
